The Conversation

60 years after Bay of Pigs, New York Times role – and myth – made clear

Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication

Bay of Pigs debacle: Watched by armed guards, grim-faced US-backed invaders are marched off to prison after their capture by Fidel Castro's forces.Bettmann via Getty Images

Sixty years ago, The New York Times is said to have muzzled itself in reporting about plans for the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion, earning a lasting niche of dishonor in the...

America gets a D+ for school infrastructure - but federal COVID relief could pay for many repairs

Written by Michael Addonizio, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Wayne State University

Money from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan could go toward much-needed improvements to crumbling public school buildings.Erin Clark for The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Many kids are attending public schools this spring with the use of COVID-19 safety protocols, including more desk spacing, more frequent cleaning and mandates to wear masks.

B...

Why Johnson Johnson throwing out 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses shouldn't scare you

Written by Tinglong Dai, Associate Professor of Operations Management & Business Analytics, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

Vaccine production staff demonstrate operations at a facility in Germany.AP Photo/Michael Probst

Human errors at a manufacturing plant forced Johnson & Johnson to throw out 15 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine – enough to vaccinate 7% of the U.S. adult population.

The New York Times, which first reported the loss on March 31, 2021,...

CBD, marijuana and hemp: What is the difference among these cannabis products, and which are legal?

Written by Brandon McFadden, Assistant Professor of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware

New York recently became the 15th U.S. state to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

While 67% of U.S. adults support marijuana legalization, public knowledge about cannabis is low. A third of Americans think hemp and marijuana are the same thing, according to the National Institutes of Health, and many people still search Google to find out...

In gun debate, both sides have evidence to back them up

Written by Zach Lang, Ph.D. Student in Political Science, University of Missouri-Columbia

People who want to restrict guns have a point, but so do people who say those laws make little difference in mass shootings.George Frey/AFP via Getty Images

Gun control is back in the U.S. political debate, in the wake of mass shootings in California, Boulder and Atlanta.

Democrats see stricter gun control as a step toward addressing the problem....

How can all schools safely reopen?

Written by Brandon Guthrie, Assistant Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology, University of Washington

In-person learning can start as long as schools operate safely, says the CDC.Jon Cherry/Getty Images

The question of when and how to open schools for full in-person learning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most consequential the U.S. currently faces. A wealth of evidence suggests that schools can provide in-person instruction...

How Black poets and writers gave a voice to 'Affrilachia'

Written by Amy M. Alvarez, Assistant Teaching Professor, English, West Virginia University

'Untitled' from the series 'Imaging/Imagining.' Photo by Raymond Thompson, Jr.

Appalachia, in the popular imagination, stubbornly remains poor and white.

Open a dictionary and you’ll see Appalachian described as a “native or inhabitant of Appalachia, especially one of predominantly Scotch-Irish, English, or German ancestry.”

Read...

White mobs rioted in Washington in 1848 to defend slaveholders' rights after 76 Black enslaved people staged an unsuccessful mass escape on a boat

Written by Michael David Cohen, Research Professor of Government, American University

An abolitionist lithograph of the slave trade in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Capitol in the background.Library of Congress

The summer of 2020 was not the first time America saw protests and violence over the treatment of African Americans.

An account on April 19, 1848, of the Pearl’s capture appearing in The Daily Union newspaper of...

Christian nationalism is a barrier to mass vaccination against COVID-19

Written by Monique Deal Barlow, Doctoral Student of Political Science, Georgia State University

Some evangelical leaders are trying to counter Christian nationalist misinformation over vaccines.Win McNamee/Getty Images

While the majority of Americans either intend to get the COVID-19 vaccine or have already received their shots, getting white evangelicals to vaccination sites may prove more of a challenge – especially those who identify...

Poorer and minority older adults are suspicious of the US health care system – a new study shows why

Written by Marc Cohen, Clinical Professor of Gerontology, University of Massachusetts Boston

Research shows racial, economic and health inequities are deeply intertwined.monkeybusinessimages via Getty Images

Just over two weeks before she died of complications from COVID-19 in December 2020, Dr. Susan G. Moore recorded a smartphone video from her bed in an Indiana hospital. In the recording, which went viral, the Black physician accused a...